


The Flavor of Your Lips Is Enough To Keep Me Pressing

by wtfscarves



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Coffeeshop AU, College AU, M/M, One-Shot, a lil bit of angst, a lot of fluff, alex is kind of a crybaby, and everyone is highkey pretentious as fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wtfscarves/pseuds/wtfscarves
Summary: Alex Gaskarth is a graphic design major with a huge term project coming up. Jack Barakat is a college drop-out who opened a coffeeshop.





	

       Alex Gaskarth pushed his extremely unnecessary thick rimmed glasses up on his nose as he sild into the first booth he saw in the small cafe he’d impulsively decided to come to, so he’d have a place away from his roommate to do his term project. He removed the old backpack from his shoulders and pulled out his notes and his computer. Alex stared down at it as ideas bubbled in his brain, fingers tracing around the laptop’s silver finish decorated with quirky stickers.  
      Alex had been working his literal ass off in his Graphic Design class for weeks and weeks, trying tirelessly to impress his professor in different ways with every project. However, Alex realized at this point, where his term project was due in at the end of the month, that he’d set the bar ridiculously high for himself. Many ideas for this project had been penned down, but he still wasn’t quite proud of even the concept of any of them.  
     The prompt for the project was to create a poster advertising a favorite place, and Alex had been coming up empty handed. Initial ideas had been Mom’s house, childhood home, Essex, and a little hiking trail somewhere in the Maryland mountains. He didn’t quite connect with any of them, and along with the project, he needed to have an essay explaining why.

* * *

 

     Jack finally rolled his eyes, knowing that this kid was far too absorbed in whatever the hell he was doing to walk up to the damn counter and order something. While this kid was particularly nice to look at, loitering was loitering. Jack could probably stand to stare a little longer, staring at his messy hair and pretentious glasses and the strange formal-but-extremely-casual-looking blazer.  
     “Are you gonna order something or not?” Jack asked, holding back a giggle as the pretentious boy recoiled from the sudden voice.  
     “Shit!” The kid exclaimed, straightening his glasses and his jacket before nervously replying. “Yeah, sorry. Term projects, y'know?”  
     Jack giggled and nodded knowingly. “Do you like your coffee black?”  
     “Two sugars,” Kid giggled, adjusting his glasses out of anxiety. “If you need a name, it’s Alex,”  
     “You’re one of two people in the cafe, but I appreciate knowing your name,” Jack replied. “If you need a name, it’s Jack,”  
     Alex couldn’t help but laugh a little louder at the mockery in his tone. “Thanks, man.”  
     Jack walked away and Alex looked back down at his keyboard keys, kicking himself for not ordering his damn coffee himself. He looked back over at his notepad, losing himself in thought and trying to think of how to get his mom to take the perfect picture of the exterior of her house.  
     Soon enough, the coffee with two sugars was placed delicately next to his computer with a note on the napkin. “On the house.”

 

* * *

 

     Alex arrived back to his dorm and nearly shat himself at the mess of paint surrounding Ashton’s desk. The green splatters were even on the fucking ceiling, how the hell does that kid fucking do that?  
     Ashton was Alex’s fucking obnoxious ass freshman roommate, who was also an art major, but obviously, Ash was more interested in the traditional canvas and paint.  
     Alex slipped his shoes and blazer off, tossing them onto his bed and pulling out his phone to send a few quick text messages. Alex scrolled through his text messages until he found the name “Painter Boy”.  
    Alex typed furiously, hitting send and envisioning the shit eating grin on the younger boy’s face.  
**Oolex** : ASHTON. WHAT THE FUCK. WHERE ARE YOU? DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CLEAN UP THIS HOUSE LIKE YOUR DAMN MOTHER?  
**Painter Boy** : Mom omg chill. I just went out for 2 seconds because I ran out of green.  
**Oolex** : SCRAPE IT OFF THE FUCKING WALLS. FOR FUCKS SAKE. WE’RE GONNA GET KICKED OUT  
_**Painter Boy changed Oolex’s nickname to Mom**_  
**Painter Boy** : chill. I can see the steam coming out of ur ears from down the block and 2 floors down boi  
     Alex rolled his eyes and wiped down the younger’s desk for him. Ashton had to deal with the walls and ceiling himself.  
     As soon as Alex was done with that, he made himself a quick cup of noodles before exchanging his tight black jeans for loose sweatpants. He opened his laptop once again, splaying out over his uncomfortable bed and sighing as he stared at the blank photoshop canvas, opening up the student examples and wishing he wasn’t so stuck on this damn project.  
     Some time later, Ashton came home, green paint covering his hands and face.  
     “For god’s sake,” Alex groaned. “I wiped off your table, but you have to deal with the ceiling and the damn walls,”  
     Ashton giggled and nodded. “I will take care of it, but you’re balls deep in a term project too, so you can’t blame me.”  
     “Ash, Photoshop isn’t messy,”  
     “Whatever, man. You not showering for three days and stress-sweating is fucking nasty.”  
     Alex chucked a pillow at him and rolled his eyes. “Whatever yourself,”  
     “I’m going out tonight, by the way. Hazel and I have a thing,”  
     Alex jokingly gagged and giggled. “Okay, have fun. I’ll just be here. Alone. Rotting.”  
     “Stop being such a drama queen,” Ashton laughed before softening. “You could probably come if you wanted, it’s a poetry reading at some cafe on the north side. You’re invited,”  
     “We’ll see,”

 

* * *

 

 

     Alex had finally settled on going. He had told Ashton and Hazel he wanted to meet them there. Alex would rather walk to the cafe than catch an uber over and sit front seat while his roommate and one of his best friends gazed into each other’s eyes.  
     Before Alex walked in, he smiled, realizing it was the one from earlier in the day. He hoped a little bit that the guy working earlier -Jack? Jake?- would be there, with a wry smile and a sugar sweet giggle. Why would he ever deny that the boy was cute? Alex couldn’t believe even the straightest man on the planet wouldn’t think that the barista was cute.  
     Ashton and Hazel were waiting inside, waving Alex in and towards the circular booth they were sitting in. Ashton had cleaned up a little bit, a few paint stains still littering his black muscle tee.  
     Hazel was a pretty girl with round glasses, a big sweater and a silver bun sitting on top of brown roots. She had a pen perched in her ear and a satchel-purse thing filled with notebooks and journals. She was majoring in creative writing, and was the most perfect girlfriend for Ash.  
     Alex began approaching the couple right as Hazel pressed a kiss to Ashton’s cheek.  
     “Gross,” Alex laughed softly, sliding into the booth.  
     “You’re jealous because you want to kiss Ashton, aren’t you?” Hazel giggled, leaning onto Ash’s shoulder.  
     “It’s not like you’ve never kissed me before,” Ashton laughed softly, winking at Alex.  
     “You might have more competition than you thought, Hazey,”  
     “Oh whatever, Lexy,”  
     The trio laughed together, exchanging jokes and patiently waiting for the first poet to come onstage and read.  
     A while later, Jack or Jake, or whatever his name was strolled onto the makeshift stage and smiled a beautiful smile. He introduced the first reader and smiled wide as he recognized Alex.  
     Alex watched as the guy walked offstage, offering Alex a slight grin and a wink. Alex blushed a bit, nervously pushing up his fake glasses and smiling back.                 Unfortunately, Ashton quickly picked up on this.  
     “That guy is your type, Alex.” He giggled.  
     “Yeah, whatever you say, Ash. Even you can admit he’s pretty cute. But I don’t even know his name.”  
     Ashton rolled his eyes and motioned for the barista to come over, Alex immediately swatting his hand away and giving his roommate a death glare.  
     “Ashton I swe-”  
     Jack smiled wide and giggled. “Do you three need anything?”  
     Ashton batted his eyelashes and hummed. “I just noticed my friend and you making eyes at each other, I figured you might want to talk instead of winking and just getting him all flustered.”  
     Jack laughed and hummed softly. “Awe, that’s so sweet. I didn’t wanna seem like I was coming on too strongly. Jack, by the way.”  
     Alex’s face turned a bright red and he covered his face below his glasses, cursing out Ash in his mind. He peeked through the cracks in his fingers and took a deep breath, working up the courage to collect himself and act natural.  
     “He seems like he needs a second though,” Jack jokingly told Ash, watching Alex’s face and giggling.  
     Alex heard their laughter and some more flirty comments before uncurling and looking at Hazel who was quietly giggling. She gave Alex a feigned apologetic look, gesturing to Jack.  
     “I hate you both,” Alex finally spoke. “I only like Hazel right now,”  
     “Aw,” Ashton and Jack both pouted and suppressed giggles.  
     “Maybe,” Alex began, trying his best to smirk through his anxiety. “I would like Jack better if you gave me your number,”  
     Jack smiled wide and hummed, taking Alex’s phone from his offered hand and putting his information in. “Hopefully we can get together soon?”  
     Alex repressed his blush and nodded. “I’ll text you when I get home,”

 

* * *

 

 

     “I can’t wait for you guys to date! You’d be so cute!” Hazel exclaimed upon return to Ash and Alex’s dorm.  
     Alex shook his head. “Can’t you guys go make out and paint and write about each other and leave me alone?”  
     “Absolutely not!” Ash giggled. “We wanna help you date Jack.”  
     Alex shook his head. “You will absolutely not! Appreciate it though,” he sighed, sinking into his bed. “I didn’t insist on helping you date Hazel,”  
     Hazel pouted, giving Alex puppy dog eyes. “Aw, please,” she purred.  
     “No, Hazel,” Alex said, an aloof tone sneaking into his voice. “It’s just a guy,”  
     Ashton shook his head. “It’s more than just a guy, you haven’t dated since, ever. We just want this to work out for you,”  
     “I can really do this myself, I appreciate the effort but I really don’t need help. I can do this myself,”  
     Ash and Hazel looked at each other. “We care about you, Lex.” Hazel sighed, sitting on the bed next to him.  
     Ash nodded. “If you need anything, we’re here, kay? Hazel and I both know you’re perfectly capable of getting this guy yourself. We just really don’t want to see you hurting.”  
     Alex groaned softly. “You guys definitely love me way more than I deserve.” he hummed, turning towards the wall.  
     Silence fell among the trio and Ashton smiled a bit. “Whatever, man.”  
     And with that, Ashton left to walk Hazel back to her own dorm.

* * *

 

     Alex woke up thinking about Jack. Much to Ashton’s annoyance, Alex had anxiously tossed and turned all night, thinking about all the possibilities and potential with Jack. This was all based on if Alex actually worked himself up enough to just send one fucking text message. And whether or not Jack rejected him. Which he wouldn’t, right? Jack was the one who gave Alex his number anyways, that had to count for something.  
     Pushing his anxious and irrational thoughts aside, Alex sat up and looked across the room to Ashton’s bed, which was disheveled and empty besides the younger boy’s laptop. Alex laughed softly and unplugged his phone where two texts from Ashton awaited him. One informing Alex that he got up early to leave for classes and the other one with an annoying winking face reminding him to text Jack.  
     “For fuck’s sake,” Alex whispered to himself, giggling softly as he got out of bed and went to go pour himself a bowl of cereal. He wasn’t quite prepared for the day ahead, and he would rather lay in bed and worry about Jack than go to classes.  
     Classes. He still had to start his graphic design project, damn. His mom’s house, Baltimore, Essex, a hiking trail, Jack’s cafe-  
     Alex shook his head to clear his mind of Jack. This project was nearly life determining in his anxiety-ridden brain, he needed to focus. His first class of the day didn’t start for another few hours, so he had time to kill. A walk would clear his head.

 

* * *

 

     The fall leaves crunched underneath Alex’s battered combat boots as he walked along the sidewalk. His mind was repeating ideas with the occasional thought of Jack. Jack hugging him around the waist and pulling Alex against him for a kiss. Jack and Alex dancing to shitty pop together at absurd hours of the night. Jack and Alex alone in the cafe together. Jack and Alex.  
     “Pull yourself together,” Alex whispered to himself, shaking his head again. If texting Jack is what will get these feelings and thoughts cleared out, texting him it was.   Butterflies churned in his stomach as he pulled out his phone. He typed in his passcode and butterflies soon turned into the stabbing pang of anxiety. His thumb hovered over Jack’s name for a second before he fully committed to it and began tapping out a text.  
**Alex** : Hey. It’s Alex, and I was just thinking about stopping by the cafe later if you wanted to talk?  
     He read over the text over five times, biting his lip before finally hitting send and feeling his heart drop into the bottom of his stomach. He quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket and prayed -only a little bit- that the text would fail to send and nothing would happen. This was supposed to take weight off his shoulders? Hell, this added twenty more pounds!

 

* * *

 

     Jack leaned on the counter as he waited for Rian and Zack to come in for their shift. He’d cleaned the cafe up and down out of boredom. It was rather slow while classes were in session, and Jack was praying for either a meteor to crash into the restaurant to clear his near emotionless state or literal Mark Hoppus coming into Jack’s tiny cafe.  
     As Jack thought up scenarios in his head, his phone dinged, alerting him of a text message and clearing his thoughts. The boy smiled wide as he read Alex’s name in the message, immediately opening his phone to save the number and text back.  
**Jack** : Sounds good to me, it’s pretty dead right now If you wanted to stop by. :)  
    A few minutes passed before he got a reply.  
**Alex** : My first class doesn’t start for another hour, I’ll be there soon.

 

* * *

 

     Alex’s hand shook happily as he replied to the messages. He picked up his pace as he rounded the corner to the cafe. His heart beat quickly in his chest as he fixed his glasses and fidgeted with his hair, as well as adjusting his jacket and backpack on his shoulders. After fussing around for a few more moments, Alex took a breath and walked into the cafe.  
     The bell on the door rung loudly through the cafe and Alex’s heart fluttered at the way Jack’s face lit up.  
     “Alex!” Jack exclaimed, walking up to Alex excitedly.  
     “Hey,” Alex giggled, looking down at the floor as his cheeks began turning a light shade of pink.  
     “I’m really glad you came, it’s usually pretty dead while classes are in session. Cleaning is only fun for a little while.”  
     “Cleaning isn’t fun at all,” Alex smiled, sitting on one of the barstools at the counter.  
     “I’d rather be cleaning this place than in some boring college class.”  
     Alex rolled his eyes, suddenly reminded again of the final project he should be doing. “Maybe you could help me pick a place for my final.” Alex said, looking at Jack.  
     “I get half the credit then,” Jack joked, sitting on the stool beside Alex.  
     The student rolled his eyes again and let out a soft giggle. “It’s yours. I need to make a poster advertising my favorite place, and I need to write an essay on why. I can’t pick between all the ideas I have and I barely have any words to explain why.”  
     “Why don’t you just do your dorm?”  
     “Because my dorm is small and messy and contains Ashton Irwin sometimes. And I only love him sometimes because he’s a messy shit.”  
     “You and Ashton are like a married couple.”  
     “That’d make you a homewrecker then,” Alex smirked, leaning back and pride bubbling in his chest at the attempt of flirting.  
     “That’d only be if we were dating,”  
     “Date me, then. I’m sure Ashton would be okay with you being a homewrecker.”  
     “Hm. Meet me here after your last class on Friday? I’ll get someone to cover my shift and we can go out?”  
     Alex grinned and nodded, pushing his fake glasses up on the bridge of his nose and pulling his hands into his jacket. He looked down and checked his phone, deflating slightly as he realized he needed to leave for class. “See you Friday, then.”  
     “See you, Lex.”

 

* * *

 

     Friday had finally came after a long week of bullshit. Bullshit meaning time not spent with Jack. Alex dumped his schoolbag on his bed and completely ignored the stressed grunt of hello from Ashton as the older boy started going through his clothes, trying to find something nice to wear.  
     For once, Alex barely cared that there was paint all over Ashton’s side of the room. He couldn’t care less if someone found the mess and expelled them both forever. Alex really, really needed to find something nice to wear for Jack.  
     Alex’s slightly rushed frenzy to find something nice to wear caught Ashton’s attention, and the freshman laughed softly. “Where are you going? I was all ready to listen to you bitch about classes while I painted.”  
     “I have a date with Jack,” Alex said, picking out a striped scarf and a distressed gray shirt.  
     “Be home before 11,” Ashton teased as Alex settled on his red leather jacket as the final touch to his outfit.  
     “Whatever, man,” Alex giggled not giving even a quarter of a shit that he was dressing himself in front of Ash.  
     “Whatever yourself,” Ash giggled, turning back to his painting.  
     Alex checked his phone for time and read three text messages from Jack that were lightheartedly asking where he was and what was taking him so long. He replied quickly, saying he’d be there in a few before tying his shoes and rushing out the door.

 

* * *

 

     By the time Alex finally got to the cafe, he was out of breath from running across campus to the cafe. He adjusted his jacket, glasses and hair before walking into the cafe and smiling wide as he saw Jack.  
     “You look good in red,” Jack grinned.  
     “That’s a nice hello,” Alex said playfully, despite the pink tinting his cheeks.  
     “I figured we’d skip the small talk,” Jack pulled on a hoodie and laughed softly as Alex looked down at his shoes.  
     “I’m fine with that.” Alex breathed as he followed Jack out of the cafe.  
     As they walked up the street illuminated by the setting sun, Alex tried thinking of some question to ask Jack, brushing them off for being too personal.  
     “So what is your favorite place?” Jack asked, interrupting Alex’s train of thought.  
     “I’m not quite sure. I really love Baltimore, and my mom’s house, and there’s this hiking trail my brother and I used to go up a lot until I was sixteen, but I can’t pick just one.”  
     “Why Baltimore?”  
     “I grew up there, and there’s so many great memories and I love the city more than anything,”  
     Jack cracked a smile as Alex’s face lit up at the thought of his hometown. “Why not advertise Baltimore?”  
     “Hometowns are overdone. Baltimore isn’t personal enough. I want to really really spend a lot of thought on this and pick somewhere that not everyone else down the line will pick too.”  
     “So you like standing out?”  
     “Sure, to an extent.”  
     “Cute.”  
     Alex scoffed and playfully shoved Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t call me cute.”  
     “What? But you’re adorable!” Jack giggled, an overwhelming urge to peck Alex on the cheek starting in his chest.  
     “I swear, I’m not cute, I’ll kill you.”  
     “Whatever helps you sleep at night, man.”  
     A silence fell over them as they sat down on a city bench. Alex couldn’t take his eyes off Jack for the life of him, and he prayed he could get away with it.  
     “I’m not hanging in a museum, Lex. You can touch me, if you want.”  
     Alex found himself quickly flustered and he bit his lip hard. “I d-didn’t mean-”  
     Jack laughed softly, scooting a little closer to Alex and brushing his hair out of his face. Jack cupped his cheeks gently, smiling a reassuring smile. “There’s nothing to worry about. I don’t bite, either.”  
     “I’m sorry, I’m just- I don’t know-” Alex was quickly hushed by Jack, and he looked at the dark haired boy worriedly.  
     “It’s okay,” Jack purred gently, taking a deep breath and kissing Alex’s forehead softly.

 

* * *

 

     Alex wandered into the dark dorm and the harsh weight of falling in love pulled his heart down and made his stomach turn. He couldn’t get Jack’s lips on his forehead out of his mind and he was still a bit shaken up.  
     He opened and closed the door quietly, careful not to wake his roommate.  
     Ash, by the looks of the faint glow from his cell phone, was awake anyways and exclaimed excitedly when Alex walked in. “You have to tell me everything, please!”  
     Alex was startled by the outburst and flicked on the light once he collected himself. “Jesus fuck, Ashton.”  
     “Tell me what happened!”  
     “You get more and more little brother-y every single day, I swear.”  
     “Stop avoiding the question!”  
     “It was fine, we didn’t kiss kiss or anything. We walked around, talked. He walked me here.”  
     “That’s all you did for six hours?”  
     “That was six hours?” Alex checked the time on his phone, not believing what he saw. “I didn’t even realize.”  
     “Obviously.” Ashton hummed, leaning up in bed. “Was he as nice as he comes off to be?”  
     “Yeah, he was really nice.”  
     “Why won’t you give me details?”  
     “He kissed my forehead.”  
     “Alex!” Ashton whisper screamed, overjoyed with the small detail.  
     “It’s not a big deal! It was just one tiny kiss.”  
     “It is a big deal! Jack really likes you, man!”  
     “Whatever.”  
     “Whatever yourself.”

 

* * *

  
     As soon as the cafe opened, Alex walked in and hummed, smiling softly as he headed to the counter to greet Jack. It had only been a week since their first official date, but Alex came by everyday to see him, and Jack still hadn’t gone any further than to kiss his forehead. He took his place on his favorite barstool and dinged the little bell on the counter, Rian coming up to the counter before rolling his eyes, smiling and calling to Jack.  
     Jack grinned wide as he saw Alex’s face, coming around the counter and wrapping his arms around him and kissing his forehead. “Hey, baby.”  
     Alex’s heart fluttered a little at the nickname and leaned into his arms. “We’ve only been dating a week, cool it with the pet names.”  
     “What, you don’t want people to know you’re my baby?”  
     “Do _you_ know that I’m your baby?”  
     “Duh.”  
     Alex sat with his head in Jack’s chest for a few minutes and sighed softly in contentment.  
     “You need a coffee, babe?” Jack hummed softly, knowing it was a little early for Alex. The boy in his arms nodded and started to say two sugars before Jack shushed him again. “I got it,”  
     While Jack went back to get his coffee, Alex propped his elbows up on the counter and shamelessly stared at Jack while he started the coffeemaker and got Alex’s cup out. The bell above the door dinged and the student couldn’t help but feel a little intruded upon. Yes, this was a cafe open to the public, and yes, Alex liked Jack’s cafe getting attention, but he also liked Jack giving him attention.  
     Alex turned to see who entered and bit his lip. A boy slightly older than him had walked in, who had smiled a stunning and white smile in Alex’s direction upon noticing his eyes on him. The guy had a jawline that was almost chiseled from stone, and a nearly perfect nose. Alex shifted a bit uncomfortably, sitting up a bit straighter as the guy sat down right next to him. This guy probably made him look like a negative four on a one to ten scale.  
     Alex pushed his glasses up nervously and pulled at the sleeves of his striped sweater, pulling the cuffs over his palms.  
     Jack was taken aback when he walked back towards the counter and saw Brian sitting next to Alex. He blinked, trying to read Alex’s feelings to decide how to react. Jack set Alex’s coffee carefully in front of him, and greeting Brian. “What can I get for you today?”  
     Brian laughed softly and hummed. “You don’t need to act like I’m a stranger, and you know I like my coffee black.”  
     Alex knew what those words meant and he tried to hold back a groan. This ethereal prince of course had to be Jack’s ex boyfriend. Alex couldn’t help but feel like a step down for Jack, and any sliver of hope he had of being good enough was diminished with a sentence.  
     “Don’t take too long, I’m impatient,” Brian sang, Jack retreating back behind the counter to make his coffee.  
     Alex wracked his brain, taking a quick sip of coffee and trying to figure out if he wanted to talk to the guy or not.  
     The guy must’ve noticed Alex’s glances and uncomfort and took notice. “Why so nervous?” He asked, smiling a bright white smile.  
     “Anxiety,” Alex choked, trying to laugh.  
     “Brian,” the guy said, sticking a hand out for Alex to shake.  
     “Alex-” he stuttered, taking his hand.  
     “Do you come here a lot?”  
     “Uh- Y-yeah,” Alex stuttered, swallowing hard.  
     Brian turned away from the awkward college student and smiled as Jack brought his coffee out. “Thank you,” he said in that singsong voice again.  
     Alex looked at Jack and felt suddenly inferior. He knew somewhere in the rational part of his brain that Jack didn’t care and thought he was perfect, but the anxious (and dominant) part of his brain couldn’t stop telling him how worthless he was. He took a breath and again looked to Jack, trying to cry for help with his eyes. Alex wanted so desperately for Jack to read his mind so they could go back to the perfect moment they’d had a few minutes ago. Alex checked his phone and frowned, the time edging closer to eleven am, which was when his class started.  
     “B-babe?” Alex said softly, calling to Jack and shaking. “I have to g-go to class now- I’ll see you tonight-” He stuttered in an attempt to make this Brian guy feel jealous of Alex.  
     Alex and Jack exchanged goodbyes and Alex walked out quickly, still shaking as he started down the sidewalk and made his way to class.

 

* * *

 

     After Alex’s first class, he texted Ashton about what had happened.  
**Mom** : jacks ex is so fucking hot i want to gouge my eyes out  
**Painter Boy** : relax, are you jumping to conclusions or did jack show you pics?  
**Mom** : no. the fuckign guy showed up at the cafe. he even said “i’m not a stranger” or some shit like that.  
**Painter Boy** : well lucky for you you’re probably hotter. chill.  
**Mom** : his jawline was literally so sharp it gave my eyes cuts.  
**Painter Boy** : alrite. sure. talk 2 u 2nite.  
     Alex sighed, knowing Ashton would probably take him more seriously once they were talking face to face and Alex’s contact name wasn’t Mom. He kind of wished he could’ve stayed at the cafe longer, making sure the ex didn’t try and pull any shit. Of course he trusted Jack, but he definitely didn’t trust Brian. He was too pretty to be trusted.  
     Alex sat down in his next class, and he only had two more after this and then he could talk to Jack about this. He could talk to Jack now, but he really really didn’t want to. He would rather Jack ask what was wrong than just confessing in to him when Jack was probably in an emotional state. Maybe Jack was a little freaked out by his ex boyfriend and his current boyfriend sitting side by side and interacting, but it didn’t seem like there was any tension.  
     Fuck Brian and his gorgeous smile and his chiseled jawline. Alex had nice things too. Like high cheekbones, nice brows, long legs. Alex also had a weird nose, a little bit of pudge on his stomach and anxiety. Maybe Alex didn’t have as many nice things as Brian but he had to have some kind of issue because he did presumably break up with Jack. How could he possibly do that?  
     Alex’d been thinking for so long class was about over and he’d zoned in and out of an entire lesson. Priorities, Alex, priorities, he thought to himself, putting his notes away and pulling himself out of his desk.  
     Graphic Design was next and Alex’s brain went right to his term project and his mind began screaming. Oh fuck oh fuck I don’t even have a concept or a rough sketch or anything fuck shit.  
     He opened his laptop and decided to put down a base for his poster. Red with a thin white border around the edges.  
     “Done,” he whispered to himself, saving the work and closing photoshop, listening to the professor talk.  
     Maybe he could advertise Jack’s cafe, and while the idea was just for a project, the cafe could probably use some kind of advertising. The only problem though, was Alex wasn’t too sure of his emotional connection to the cafe besides Jack.  
     Alex sighed and shook his head, not wanting to think about Jack for a second and deciding just to throw together a new phone wallpaper for himself, just to keep his brain occupied.

 

* * *

 

     A class and some suffering over his term project later, Alex swallowed, trying to decide if he wanted to go see Jack again or if he just wanted to go back to his dorm and curl up to get away from the world.  
     Bed sounded nice, the dorm it was. Alex trudged across campus, he hadn’t taken his headphones out since halfway through his last boring class and wasn’t going to bother with putting them away, simply turning the music up louder, skipping every single song that could be considered a love song. His heart could deal without the constant reminders of how fucking perfect Jack was.  
     He walked into the dorm and his phone vibrated with a few texts, some from Ashton and some from Jack. Two people he normally wouldn’t have second thoughts about opening their texts, but he just set his phone on the nightstand, removed his jeans and fell into bed. He wrapped his comforter tightly around him and pulled the blanket up to his chin. Maybe he could sleep away his anxiety and body image issues.

* * *

 

      Someone had to give Alex a medal for making a really great attempt at sleeping his problems away. Judging by the time on his phone and his texts, he’d slept for about four hours, Ashton had come home at some point and then left with Hazel, and Jack was worried.  
      Alex sighed, knowing he probably had to face reality, as much as he didn’t want to. Of course, there was nobody begging him to get out of bed and he probably could’ve stayed there for years and years if he wanted to, but that would certainly have worried a few people.  
     Alex was too lazy and warm to actually get out of bed, but interacting with reality behind a screen was just fine, and would definitely worry the people in his life a lot less. He texted Ashton and informed him it’d just been a long day and there was nothing to worry about. He got to Jack’s text and took a deep breath, calling him instead.      The phone rang three times before Jack finally answered.  
     “Alex, are you okay? I’ve been worried as fuck,” Jack said quickly, worry and relief wrapped into his tone.  
     “Yeah, I just had a rough day. Will you come over?”  
     “Sure, do you need anything?”  
     “You,” Alex breathed out, listening to Jack inhale and exhale deeply.  
     “See you soon, babe,”   
     Alex took a second, still listening to the other boy’s breath until he hung up. He didn’t really care if Jack saw him with his bed hair and sheet marks on his arms and face from the blankets. Or maybe he did care, but didn’t have the energy to make himself presentable. He wasn’t about to put pants on.  
     Alex fixated on a bumpy spot on the ceiling and let his eyes unfocus, zoning out until Jack arrived. Three soft knocks on the door alerted Alex of this, and he simply called for Jack to just walk in.  
     “Hey,” Alex smiled, feeling a little bit happy for the first time since this morning.  
     “You okay, babe?” Jack asked, sitting down on the edge of Alex’s bed.  
     Alex nodded and hummed. “Now that you’re here, yeah.”  
     Silence fell over them. Alex could feel Jack’s eyes on him, probably worried that his boyfriend looked so rough and exhausted. Alex cleared his throat and swallowed, trying to come up with a smooth way for Jack to get into the bed with him and hold him close.  
     “I can see the wheels turning in your head, what are you thinking about?” Jack asked, focusing on Alex’s eyes.  
     “A good way to ask you to cuddle me,”  
     Jack laughed softly and slipped under the blanket, turning Alex to face him. “Well done, baby.”  
     Alex attached to Jack quickly, burying his head beneath Jack’s chin and sighing happily as Jack curled around him.  
     “You didn’t tell me your ex was hot,” Alex said, semi-jokingly as Jack ran his fingers through his hair.  
     “He’s like a two next to you, baby.”  
     “Whatever, Jack. He has the most perfect jawline and perfect teeth and pretty eyes.”  
     “Those are what, three things? You have a perfect nose, gorgeous eyes, a great smile, nice hands, you have perfect everything, babe.”  
     “Do you promise?” Alex asked softly.  
     “I promise, you’re the most gorgeous boy I’ve seen in my life, there’s no boy who has ever walked this earth prettier than you, Lex.” Jack kissed his forehead and Alex pulled back a little bit to meet his eyes.  
     Alex’s heart wanted him to cry. The lump in his throat wanted him to cry. “Jack-” he choked softly.  
     Jack could practically hear the tears welling up in his eyes. “Lex, don’t cry,”  
     Alex laughed softly and wiped away the little bit of extra water in his eyes. “I- Jack- I love you,”  
     “I love you too,”  
      Those words sent Alex over the edge, he was bawling hard in Jack’s arms and trying not to get tears and snot all over his shirt. Alex had wanted this for so long, to feel loved and worth something and to have someone tell him he loved him, and really mean it.  
     Jack held his boyfriend tight in his arms while he cried, kissing his forehead over and over and whispering “I love you” in between contact.  
     After a while Alex calmed down, listening to the beating of Jack’s heart and his steady breathing. “Thank you,” Alex murmured softly.  
     “Do you feel better?” Jack asked, twirling a lock of Alex’s hair between his fingers.  
     Alex nodded and hummed in response. “A lot.” They laid in silence again before Alex laughed softly. “If you tell Ashton about this I’ll fucking murder you.”  
     “We’ll see,” Jack giggled softly. “Wanna go get something to eat?”  
     “Chipotle, please?” Alex asked, getting out of bed and pulling sweatpants on.  
     “Sure, baby.”

 

* * *

 

     It’d been two and a half weeks since Alex and Jack started dating. It’d been a week and a half since they first exchanged “I love you’s” and Alex’s heart was still in his throat ever since that night.  
     Alex stopped by the coffee shop every day, in the morning, during his lunch break, and after he got out of his classes. On the weekends Alex would go and wait for Jack to get off his shift so they could go out together.  
     The best part about this, is Alex had finally gotten an idea he liked for his final, which was due in three days. His blank red and white poster finally turned into something, and he took the time to carefully think through his essay. He even had it printed like a real poster advertisement. Alex planned on turning it in early, beyond excited for what his teacher would say.  
     For right now, Alex was sitting at his desk that had been rarely used as he typed through his essay, skimming through it for any errors. He typed quickly without trying, the excitement of turning it in tomorrow settling in his stomach.  
     Ash had been working away at his term project too, and this was the first time in a while that the pair was together for an extended period of time. Both boys had been wrapped up in their schooling and relationships, and their schedules were so different that the only time they were in their dorm together was while they were sleeping.  
     Alex liked this very much.  
     He checked the time on his phone and read that it was a little past one in the afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten all day. “Ash, I’m gonna go get us something to eat, do you want anything in specific?”  
     Ash shook his head and stepped away from the large canvas he had been working on to face Alex. “Don’t take too long at your boyfriend’s.” He giggled, putting down his brush and beginning to mix a new set of colors.  
     “Whatever, man.” Alex laughed.  
     “Whatever yourself.” Ashton snickered, flipping him off. 

 

* * *

 

     Jack had been stressed for four days now. The shop had been busy all week, occupied by equally as stressed college students working away at their midterms, and he’d already worked three doubles in a row.  
     The bell above the door rang out and Jack tensed up again, before quickly loosening his shoulders and breathing a sigh of relief as he saw Alex’s face. Thank fuck.  
     Alex smiled as he saw the visible tension on Jack’s face melt away into a sweet smile. “Hey, Jack,”  
     “Hey baby,” Jack breathed, kissing Alex’s head.  
     “I’m almost done with my project. Ash is almost done with his too, I told him I’d get us lunch,”  
     “Do you want your guys’ usual turkey on a bagel? And two cream two sugar for Ashton?”  
     Alex nodded. “Don’t forget mine,”  
     “I know yours better than I know myself,”  
     The student giggled and leaned over the counter and watched as Jack went back to start making their sandwiches and coffee as a few people stood at the counter for a refill on coffee. Alex frowned, knowing Jack was probably at his wit’s end and really really needed a break. It’s not like Jack was the only one working there, but it was obvious he worked the most. Alex wished that Jack would take a day off, so he could breathe for just a second.  
     A few minutes later, Jack brought the coffee and sandwiches out to Alex, ringing him up and biting his lip at the long line of customers asking for refills.  
     “Good luck today. I love you.” Alex hummed, picking up the bag of food and holding both of the coffees carefully.  
     “I love you too,” Jack smiled back as Alex walked out.

 

* * *

 

     Alex arrived back in the dorm and hummed softly, handing Ashton’s sandwich and coffee to him carefully, trying to avoid touching any of the wet paint on his desk or on his side of the room in general.  
     He took a deep breath, looking at his work and feeling more proud of himself for every second he looked at it. He curled up in his desk chair and unwrapped his sandwich, spinning around in his chair and smiling at the tube that contained the printed poster.  
     Alex felt lighter as he ate, dazing off and thinking about the reaction he might receive from his professor, Jack, his peers. He knew everything would go so well over the next few days.

 

* * *

  
     Alex’s assignment had been turned in in the morning before his classes, and he was now anxiously waiting for his Graphic Design professor to finish the lecture and let Alex know his grade.  
     His heart was beating quickly in his chest, and excited butterflies swarmed in his stomach as he awaited the high grade and the praise. Alex was so excited he was barely paying attention to the lecture.  
     A few more long grueling minutes of anxiety and excitement later, Alex’s professor motioned for the student to come up to his desk to receive his grade. Alex shook excitedly as he walked towards his professor.  
     The professor handed him her review paper and his grade.  
     Alex frowned immediately. It was only a B, which wasn’t life ending, but wasn’t all that Alex was hoping for.  
     “You did a good job, and I appreciate the effort and the emotional connection to your place,” she said, humming softly. “But it wasn’t as high quality and complex as I was hoping it would be from you, Mr. Gaskarth.”  
     Alex’s heart sank a little bit and nodded. “I understand, thank you.” He collected his graded assignment and essay, leaving the classroom. He wasn’t feeling quite so happy, he was maybe even a little crushed, but a B was still good, right? And Jack still needed to see it, and Alex knew his boyfriend would adore it.  
     Whatever. He thought to himself as he made his way down to the cafe.  
     The cafe, which was busy. As fuck.  
     Alex worried a little, hoping Jack wasn’t too stressed out or frustrated.  
     When he walked in, the first thing he saw besides Jack was the obvious tension in his shoulders. Jack hardly acknowledged Alex when the student sat down in one of the barstools. Alex waited until the line of customers and orders had diminished to the point that Jack could take a quick break. “Jack?” Alex called, only getting a grunt in return. “I have something for you,”  
     Jack leaned over the counter and rested his chin on his hand. “Cool,”  
     Alex frowned a little bit at the lack of enthusiasm but pulled the poster out anyways. “I finally figured out what to do for my project, and I picked here! I figured you could also probably use it as a real advertisement, too.” He smiled hopefully as he spread the poster over the counter.  
     The reply was only another grunt and a mumble of “Cool. I like it.”  
     “Do you want to put it up?”  
     “It’s whatever,”  
     Alex felt fully deflated at this point and felt twinges of anxiety and anger swirling in his chest. “Fine.” He snapped, rolling up the poster, shoving it in his bag. “See you later.”

 

* * *

 

     Alex threw his bag on the floor of his dorm and growled angrily, letting frustrated tears fall down his cheeks. He worked his fucking ass off on this damn project for his teacher to say it wasn’t good enough and Jack to brush it off completely. Ash had barely cared either, and Alex was at the end of his rope. He couldn’t handle the lack of appreciation for something he worked so hard on.  
     He paced angrily up and down his room before setting his phone on his nightstand and grabbing his jacket. He opened his bedside drawer and retrieved his iPod and headphones, shoving the earbuds in his ears and turning up his music as loud as it could go before he slipped the device into his pocket and walked out.

 

* * *

 

     Ashton was slightly worried. Alex hadn’t texted him all day, and when Ash got back from classes, his phone was sitting on the nightstand, with a few texts and missed calls from Jack and Ashton combined.  
     Alex’s lonely phone buzzed on the nightstand with a few more messages from Jack. Ashton knew that he probably shouldn’t, but he read through the texts, just making sure Alex hadn’t forgotten his phone on the way to a date or something.  
     All of the messages read about the same. There were where are you’s, I’m sorry’s, and please call me’s. Ashton’s heart beat a little faster in his chest, calling Hazel and asking if she had any inkling as to where Alex was, which was to no avail.  
     Ash took Jack’s number from Alex’s phone and called him to inform him of the situation. He could hear Jack’s breathing hitch after being told Alex was nowhere to be found. They agreed to meet at the cafe and wait there for a while, and if Alex didn’t show, they’d go out elsewhere.

 

* * *

 

     Alex knew he was probably overreacting as he sat on a park bench. In Jack’s defense, he’d had a stressful week and the cafe had been busy all week and he hadn’t gotten a break in the same amount of time.  
     Oh god, Alex probably was overreacting. Guilt immediately settled into his stomach and he started shaking all over again. His hands instinctively patted his pockets for his phone before he realized he had left it at home.  
     Alex bit his lip, wanting to go talk to Jack face to face anyways. He took into account his surroundings again and started to the cafe. God, Alex was such an asshole, it’s not Jack’s fault he was busy. He was probably so exhausted and Alex just had to come in and be a dick.  
     How could he do that to Jack? Jack didn’t deserve that, Jack deserved a nice relaxing night with his boyfriend and oh god, what if Jack thought Alex was dead or something for not responding to his texts?  
     Alex walked a little faster.

 

* * *

  
    “It’s been a half hour that we’ve been sitting here, and Alex has probably already been out for hours, Jack.” Ashton sighed, standing up. “I don’t care what you do, but I’d rather not have a dead roommate. I’m calling someone.”  
     Jack sighed, kicking himself for being short with Alex and worrying him all week. Alex probably fucking hated Jack. And if Jack was the reason Alex left his dorm and got hurt or-  
     No. Alex was fine and he’d come home soon. His baby would come home soon and he’d be fine, and Jack would hold him and apologize and tell him how beautiful and perfect he was.  
     “We only need to call the police if we think something happened to him, right?” Jack thought aloud, gnawing on his bottom lip.  
     “We don’t know if he’s okay or not,” Ashton said sharply, breathing out a sigh and feeling relieved as Hazel walked in.  
     Hazel already had a matching and equally as upset look as Jack and her boyfriend. Despite her upset look, she took in a breath and rubbed Ashton’s back gently. “Alex is going to be okay.”  
     Jack leaned against the counter and felt tears well up for, surprisingly, the first time that night.

 

* * *

 

     After another twenty minutes of walking, Alex finally arrived at the cafe, seeing Jack, Ash, and Hazel sitting around a table all with equally as worried looks on their faces. Alex felt horrible, he didn’t mean to make his dumb little fit worry everyone. His legs shook with anxiety and he swallowed hard, fixing his eyes on the ground and walking into the cafe.  
     The bell rung above him and he could hear three gasps. Alex heard Jack say his name along with hurried footsteps and before he knew it, arms were wrapped tightly around him.  
     “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you and I didn’t mean to leave and I was just so upset and I didn’t think before I left and I didnt even realize-”  
     Jack cut his boyfriend off with kissing him hard on the lips. Jack held onto Alex like if he let go he’d lose him again.  
     Alex was caught off guard but melted into the kiss anyway. He felt Jack’s hands move from his torso to his cheeks before he pulled away.  
     “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay, and I’m sorry for ignoring you.” Jack breathed, kissing Alex’s forehead.  
     “I’m sorry for being a dick,” Alex whispered.  
     Alex pulled away from Jack only to be pulled into a crushing hug from Ash. “You fucking scared the shit out of me, man.”  
     Hazel hugged Alex too, and Alex could feel her tensing from being choked up.  
     “I’m sorry,” was all Alex could say as his friends and boyfriend hugged him.

* * *

 

     Jack had walked Alex back to his dorm when Ashton left to take Hazel to hers. Alex had a tight grip on his hand and even though it hurt just a little bit, Jack wasn’t about to make him let go.  
     “I’m sorry,” Alex said, for the millionth time that night.  
     “It’s okay, baby,” Jack purred.  
     “I didn’t want our first kiss to be like that,”  
     “I’m just glad you were there to get our first kiss.”  
     Alex went silent as he opened the door and fell onto his bed, opening his arms for Jack to cuddle him. Jack laid next to him and pulled Alex close.  
     The silence lasted a few minutes before Alex cleared his throat. “Jack?”  
     “Yeah, baby?”  
     “What’s your favorite place?”  
     “Right here.” Jack smiled softly.  
     “Why?”  
     “Because it’s all you, it’s you and it smells like you and you’re here and I love you,”  
     “I love you too,”  
     Another comfortable silence fell over them and Jack kissed his head softly.  
     “Wanna show me your poster in the morning, babe?”  
     Alex nodded sleepily and snuggled into Jack. “Stay tonight?”  
     “Of course.”

 

* * *

 

     The next day was the day that Alex was hoping for.  
     He woke up to sweet kisses from Jack and after showering and getting dressed, Alex showed him his poster that Jack reacted fucking perfectly to.  
    Jack almost annoyingly insisted on hanging it up in the cafe, which of course Alex was overjoyed to.

 

* * *

 

     The couple stood in the coffeeshop together, admiring the poster and each other. Alex pecked Jack softly on the lips and sighed contentedly.  
    “I love you, Jack.”  
    “Love you too, Lex.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope none of this felt rushed or anything! Thanks for reading <3


End file.
